Daniel Robert Zoll

1950 - 2025

passed away on March 17, 2025. Dan was born on May 16, 1950, in Pasadena, California to Robert Otto Zoll and Betty Louise Gristy.
Dan graduated from San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara, then attended Santa Barbara City College before transferring to San Jose State University. He lived in Okayama City, Japan, as an exchange student where he studied traditional arts such as Bizen pottery, judo, aikido, and calligraphy. He married Yoko Hagihara in 1975, then attended the University of Hawaii to earn a Master of Arts in Asian Languages and Literature as well as a Master of Library Science.
He then moved to Tokyo working as a freelance translator and editor, and developed an interest in computers—and when he was offered a position at the National Library of Medicine, he moved his family back to the U.S. in 1985 to live in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Dan then transferred to the Division of Computer Research and Technology at the National Institutes of Health as a Computer Specialist. He created and ran a publication there about computer hardware and software, and was presented an award for "Recognition and Appreciation of Sustained High Quality Work Performance."
He left NIH in 2000 and worked as a Computer Specialist/Web Developer in the mountains of Berkeley County, West Virginia until his retirement. He loved being in the mountains; he said it was "almost heaven." During this time, he enjoyed tending to the fish in the koi pond he built, gardening, birdwatching, and listening to music—especially bluegrass.
Dan was preceded in death by his parents, Betty and Robert, and his son, Michael M. Zoll. He is survived by his daughters, Erica S. Bruno and Lisa W. Solecki, and his grandchildren, Julian, Claudia, and Annika.
A private family ceremony will take place on March 23 under the direction of Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring, Maryland.